Quote:
Originally Posted by frankbmd
In 1936 professional baseball comes to Wausau, WI with the minor league Class C Timberjacks. The Timberjacks first manager in 1936 was Luke Boone, who also has nothing to do with it. In 1939 the Timberjacks hire Wally Gilbert to play third base and manage the team which he does until 1942, when a young 18 year old catcher joins the Timberjacks. His name is Ray Boone, the grandfather in the riddle and not related to Ike or Luke. The Timberjacks played their home games in Athletic Park in Wausau, a field which is still in use today. In 1943 the Timberjacks folded and Ray joined the service for the duration of the war.
In 1948 Ray joined the Cleveland Indians. His 13 years ML career with the Indians, the Tigers and White Sox ended in 1960, but young Bob Boone, his son, was already 13. Bob would play ten years for the Phillies begining in 1972 and then with the Angels and Royals. His major league sons Bret Boone and Aaron Boone, born in 1969 and 1973 were almost in the majors by the time Bob retired as a player in 1990. Bret’s last year as a player was 2005, but Aaron played until 2009, seven years ago.
That just about sums it up with the clues largely related to the history of baseball in Wausau and the history of the Boone family and other Boones. The Timberjacks records as a Class C Minor League team in 1942 are found in Baseball Reference. The Zobrist connection is not, as the collegiate Northwoods League is amateur baseball. The Zobrist connection can be verified though on his Wikipedia entry or on the Northwoods League website.
Oh!!!! ............and Wally Gilbert’s middle name was John.
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There is another connection to the Boone family: one of Ray Boone's teammates on the 1948 Cleveland Indians was Bob Kennedy. Kennedy and Ted Williams were the only players to lose major league time to both World War II and Korea (they were both pilots, who were in short supply, and Marines, who were in very short supply). Like Boone, Kennedy (no relation to the president) also had a son, Terry, who played in the MLB. A four time All-Star, Terry made his second AS team in 1983, as a member of the San Diego Padres. That year, Bob Boone made his last All Star appearance, as a California Angel, and got the last laugh as the A.L. romped to a 13-3 win. Unfortunately for the sake of coincidence, Terry Kennedy's sons couldn't hit the curve and never played MLB, and unfortunately for Red Sox fans, Bob's son Aaron could.